Good night, Mom!
I’ll call you tomorrow.
Hug Dad for me.
A moment later she received a text from her dad.
I feel the love.
She took her time getting ready for bed. Something she didn’t understand was nagging at her as she washed her face and brushed her teeth. Something beyond the loneliness. When she climbed under the covers and tried to get back to her Sailor Moon rewatch, she couldn’t focus, even though she knew the dubbed dialogue by heart. Grabbing her phone off her charger, she flopped onto her back and found herself pulling up Sam’s GQ interview.
She knew better. No good would come from even thinking about him any further, but the idea of Dru trying to get with him made her stomach hurt. It didn’t matter if Sam took her up on her offer. For the first time ever she and Dru wanted the same thing. Something about that was so wrong.
She skimmed the article, trying not to look at the devastatingly beautiful picture of him walking a black horse down a trail as she looked for the declaration of his single status.
Pleasant is so gracious, letting me visit him on his family’s ranch. I understand the honor that has been bestowed upon me when his rather particular horse, Majesty, accepts a carrot from my open palm, but I know I would be making a terrible mistake if I don’t ask the twenty-eight-year-old what he’s looking for in a partner and if there’s a current partner helping to make those wishes come true.
“I gotta say I’m pretty private about that stuff. About many aspects of my personal life, but I know how this goes. I know how people like to guess, and guessing never works out for anyone.”
At this point Sam smiles and gives Majesty a loving pat, and I know my husband would understand if I asked for a divorce on the spot.
“I am single at the moment. I got out of a relationship right before I booked this project and decided to focus on work for a while.” And as for the future? “I want what my grandparents had, what my parents have. I was lucky to be raised by people who love each other very much. I was lucky to be raised in a very loving home. I want to keep that going. Not that I’m looking now.” He laughs again and I find my finger hovering over my husband’s number. “But one day I will be looking for someone who wants to fill a home with laughter and sick dance moves.”
The article went on to talk about Sam’s older brother trying to out–Milly Rock him and the sight of his then eighty-two-year-old grandmother, two-time Oscar winner Leona Lovell, demonstrating her version of the Harlem Shake. The real one, not that weird viral video thing. The words started to run together and Amanda found herself going back and looking at the photos. When the sound of his laugh echoing in her ear brought everything back to the surface, she knew she had to make a decision.
She loved Helene dearly, and cherished their friendship, but maybe after the wedding she should pull back from trying to engage with her so much socially. They were in two different worlds, not that Amanda thought Helene’s A-list status made her unworthy of Helene’s friendship, but things had run smoothly between them when their friendship involved Amanda slipping over to Helene’s house for a quiet night in with her girlfriends. Oscar night had been the first time she’d really stepped out with Helene and now there was her wedding, which Amanda knew would be something close to magical. But it wasn’t Amanda’s reality. Not to mention, Dru would absolutely freak out or try to take advantage if she found out Helene even knew Amanda’s name.
And Amanda knew if she kept playing with the type of carefree fire that had landed her in Sam’s hotel room, she would find herself worse than alone. She’d find herself with a broken heart.
Chapter 4
Sam left the barn and made his way back to the lodge. He thought a long morning ride with Majesty would lift whatever dark cloud that was messing with his mood, but it didn’t work. He’d finished up all his post-Oscar interviews, had a few meetings, then pretty much fled back to his family’s ranch to get some much-needed rest. He was happy to be back home with his brothers, his soon-to-be sister-in-law, and his cousins, not to mention his horse. After a good forty-eight hours of rest and his grandmother’s amazing cooking, he still felt off.
He walked through the grounds, trying to appreciate the perfect February weather. The sun was shining in a cloudless sky, but there was just enough of a breeze coming off the mountains to keep things comfortable. Preparations for Helene’s wedding had begun months ago, but now the staff was buzzing around getting everything ready for the weekend’s festivities, starting with tonight’s rehearsal dinner and square dance. Sam had about three hours to fix his face and his mood so he could be a good friend and host when Helene and Ignacio’s other friends and family arrived.
He came up to the lodge and made his way around back, and toward the stairs that led up to Zach and Jesse’s office. He stepped back just as the door swung open and Zach stepped out.
“Oh, hey.
